One step closer to Orwell - The SAFE ACT

NewsBot · December 6, 2007

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That broad definition would cover individuals, coffee shops, libraries, hotels, and even some government agencies that provide Wi-Fi. It also sweeps in social-networking sites, domain name registrars, Internet service providers, and e-mail service providers such as Hotmail and Gmail, and it may require that the complete contents of the user's account be retained for subsequent police inspection.

Wednesday's vote caught Internet companies by surprise: the Democratic leadership rushed the SAFE Act to the floor under a procedure that's supposed to be reserved for noncontroversial legislation. It was introduced October 10, but has never received even one hearing or committee vote. In addition, the legislation approved this week has changed substantially since the earlier

version

and was

not available for public review

.

The definition of which images qualify as illegal is expansive. It includes obvious child pornography, meaning photographs and videos of children

being molested

. But it also includes

photographs of fully clothed minors

in overly "lascivious" poses, and certain

obscene visual depictions

including a "drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting." (Yes, that covers the subset of anime called

hentai